Did cuts go too far... or not far enough?

Little Britain has returned to BBC iPlayer - but with some of the more controversial creations edited out.

The character of Desiree DeVere, for which  David Walliams donned  black makeup and a fat suit, has been axed, as has Ting Tong, the Thai bride played by Matt Lucas.

However other controversial alter-egos remain such as ‘rubbish transvestite’ Emily Howard; Maggie Blackamoor, the racist and homophobic member of the Women’s Institute; and university counsellor Linda Flint who describes students in crudely offensive ways, such as ‘the ching-chong Chinaman’.

The BBC, which pulled the comedy series from iPlayer two years ago, said the edits had been made by Lucas and Walliams.

A spokesperson said: ‘Little Britain has been made available to fans on BBC iPlayer following edits made to the series by Matt and David that better reflect the changes in the cultural landscape over the last 20 years since the show was first made.’

The stars have expressed regret at  some of their decisions in the show, which first aired on TV from 2003 to 2007, having started life on radio.

‘If I could go back and do Little Britain again I wouldn’t make those jokes about transvestites. I wouldn’t play black characters,’ Lucas told The Big Issue in 2017. ‘Basically, I wouldn’t make that show now. It would upset people. We made a more cruel kind of comedy than I’d do now.’

The edits made to the show have divided opinion on Twitter, with some saying they should have gone further, and others saying the shows should be left untouched.

Oen viewer tweeted: ‘Well done @BBCiPlayer you've put #littlebritain back on being careful to remove the racist #blackface characters but left in the anti-working class and the prejudices against the disabled.’

Another said: ‘Can we just leave Little Britain in the comedy bin where it belongs next to Love Thy Neighbour? Or condense the episodes down including the genuinely good sketches and leaving out all the racism and transphobia.’

And musician Caroline McKenzie tweeted: ‘Trying to edit Little Britain for 2022 misses its actual significance. It was the last UK hit show that existed in a pre-internet unconnected world, one in which a mass audience "didn't see the harm" in blackface, ableism and punching down at the working class (to name a few). Now that we have not just seen the harm but watched it grow and metastasize into austerity, Brexit, openly racist government policy and concerted media campaigns against the poor, trans people and refugees, the programme is unwatchable. Let it recede into history.’

Others said: ‘I’m glad Little Britain is back but don’t agree with editing art to match modern standards of political correctness’; ‘absolutely ridiculous; it reflected the cultural landscape of the time so bloody leave it alone’; and branded the move ‘;ily-livered, kowtowing to censorship’.

Little Britain was also withdrawn from Netflix following the Black Lives Matter protests, but has not been restored to the platform.

Published: 17 Mar 2022